Taylor Swift Fans Think Her New Album Title Is a Reference to Ex Joe Alwyn: Here's Why

Swifties gonna sleuth. Moments after Taylor Swift announced the upcoming release of her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, on stage at the 66th GRAMMY Awards, fans were quick to notice an apparent link to her former love, Joe Alwyn. 

The longtime couple was together for six years, from late 2016 to early 2023. ET broke the news of their split, with a source saying that the breakup was amicable and "not dramatic." ET was told at the time that "the relationship had just run its course. 

Now, Swift's upcoming album will be her first original release since the breakup. Her Album of the Year-winning Midnights previously dropped in November 2022. 

Around that same time, Alwyn gave an interview to Variety in which he revealed that he was in a group chat with Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott called "the Tortured Man Club." 

Swift made the big reveal while accepting her 13th GRAMMY Award on Sunday's telecast. Famously, Swift considers 13 to be her lucky number, something she mentioned during her acceptance speech.

"OK, this is my 13th GRAMMY, which is my lucky number. I don't know if I’ve ever told you that," Swift quipped. "I want to say thank you to the members of the Recording Academy for voting this way, but I know that the way that the Recording Academy voted is a direct reflection of the passion of the fans."

Swift opted "to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I have been keeping from you for the last two years," which is the upcoming album drop.

After her acceptance speech, the singer took to Instagram to share the cover art for the album. The black-and-white pic shows Swift lying on a bed, surrounded by pillows.

The second slide of the post featured a handwritten page of what appeared to be lyrics, which read, "And so I enter into evidence / My tarnished coat of arms / My muses, acquired like bruises / My talismans and charms / The tick, tick, tick of love bombs / My veins of pitch black ink."

At the bottom of the page, Swift wrote, "All's fair in love and poetry - sincerely, The Chairman of The Tortured Poets Department."

The album is set for an April 19 release. 

The announcement came as a shock to fans, with many assuming that Swift's next release would Reputation (Taylor's Version). Swift has both Reputation and her self-titled debut left in her ongoing rerecording project. 

Swift's last release, 1989 (Taylor's Version), came out in October and became her biggest album sales debut ever. The feat made her the first-ever artist to score six No. 1 album debuts with over 1 million units sold. 

Now, with her Midnights chapter and the 2024 GRAMMY Awards in the rear view, Swift's current focus is likely on resuming her Eras Tour in Tokyo, Japan, on Feb. 7. She'll play a four-night stint at the Tokyo Dome before, presumably, making the quick trip back to the United States to cheer for her now-boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, in the upcoming Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11.

The football star previously confirmed that his Super Bowl practice schedule wouldn't allow him to make the trip to join her at the GRAMMYs, but he did offer some subtle support on Instagram by "liking" a photo of her on the red carpet in real time. 

"Taylor and Travis are doing really well," a source recently told ET. "They try to spend as much time as they can together. Travis also makes it a point to make sure Taylor feels as comfortable as possible at his home. They have discussed their future as a couple and are excited at the idea of it." 

The source added, "Right now, Travis is focused on Valentine's Day and wants to do something fun and special for Taylor." 

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